A dramatic hunt for a World War II–era stolen artwork ended in disappointment on Monday as Argentine police raided the Mar del Plata home of a Nazi heiress, only to find a tapestry where the painting should have been.
The masterpiece, stolen decades ago from a Jewish collector by her SS officer father, had vanished before investigators could seize it.
The Hunt for Portrait of a Lady
Authorities were on the trail of a 1743 painting by Giuseppe Vittore Ghislandi, Portrait of a Lady, which had once belonged to Dutch art dealer Jacques Goudstikker.
The artwork had resurfaced online after a real estate listing showed it hanging in Patricia Kadgien’s home.
A Dutch journalist investigating missing Nazi-looted art spotted it in the photo, sparking renewed interest and a swift police response.
A Family Connection to the Third Reich
Patricia Kadgien is the daughter of Friedrich Kadgien, a former top aide to Nazi official Hermann Göring.
During the war, he funded the Third Reich’s war efforts by stealing art and diamonds from Jewish collectors in the Netherlands.
After fleeing Europe postwar, Kadgien reportedly took the pilfered portrait to Brazil before settling in Argentina, where he lived under a new identity until his death in 1979.
Disappointment at the Raid
When police arrived at Kadgien’s seaside home, they found no painting.
In its place hung a newly installed tapestry, believed to have been used to cover up the artwork’s absence. “It’s clear that where we found a tapestry before not long ago, there was something else,” an unnamed law enforcement officer told La Nación.
Patricia Kadgien and her partner watched as authorities searched the property for hours.
Their lawyer was present, and no charges have been filed yet, though the couple could face potential allegations of concealing contraband.
Because the case involves art stolen during the Holocaust, there would be no statute of limitations for such charges.
The Legacy of Jacques Goudstikker
The stolen Portrait of a Lady was part of Goudstikker’s collection, which included at least 800 pieces seized or bought under duress by the Nazis.
While more than 200 of his artworks were recovered in the early 2000s, many—including this painting—remain missing and are listed on international registries of lost and looted art.
Goudstikker, who died tragically in 1940 while fleeing the Nazis, had also helped other Jews escape Europe.
He kept a record of his collection in a small black book, later recovered by his surviving wife and son in the United States.
Family Determined to Reclaim the Art
Now, 81-year-old Marei von Saher, Goudstikker’s heir, plans to file a legal claim to retrieve the painting.
“My search for the artworks owned by my father-in-law Jacques Goudstikker started at the end of the 90s, and I won’t give up,” she told Dutch media.
“My family aims to bring back every single artwork robbed from Jacques’ collection and restore his legacy.”
The case shines a spotlight on the enduring hunt for Nazi-looted art and the complex legacy of stolen cultural treasures, decades after the horrors of World War II.